The present invention may be used to advantage in the packing of cigarettes, to which the following description refers purely by way of example.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,405 discloses that packs, once an outer wrapper has been provided and sealed, are conveyed through a shrinking station and subjected to the action of heat in the region of the large-surface-area pack sides, in particular in the region of upwardly directed front sides. For this purpose, heating plates are positioned in the region of the shrinking station and transmit heat to the upwardly directed surfaces of the packs.
Though the shrinkage of the overwrappings normally provides for good aesthetic results, the packets brought together after the shrinkage tend to stick to each other. This leads to further processing difficulties (the packets are to be separated) and to an increased risk of damaging the overwrappings.